Isra-Mart srl:China to re-start controversial Nujiang hydro-power project

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China is set to resume a controversial hydropower project on the southern Nujiang River, according to state media reports.

Shi Lishan, a National Energy Administration official told the China Daily newspaper that the project is now in the preliminary research and design phase, despite being shelved eight years ago over environmental concerns.

"We believe the Nujiang River can be developed and we hope that progress can be made [...] during the 12th five-year plan period (2011-2015)," said Shi.

The comments represent the first time authorities have clearly indicated they want to resume the project.

Also known as the Salween River, the Nujiang River originates in the Tangula Mountains in the Tibet Autonomous Region, runs through China's Yunnan province, then flows through Myanmar and Thailand into the Indian Ocean.

The hydroelectric capacity of the section of the river that flows through Yunnan is estimated to be more than 42GW and has long been touted as a potential source of zero-emission energy.

However, plans for a facility were halted in 2003 after Chinese and southeast Asian environmental groups objected.

China has built no major hydroelectric projects since the completion of the world's largest facility at Three Gorges on the Yangtze River, which has a generating capacity of 18GW.

The controversial project sparked complaints from downstream nations, and condemnation from environmental groups as well as human rights groups angry at the displacement of thousands of residents. In the wake of the project, the Chinese central government urged regional authorities to conduct extensive reviews into the potential impact of any future hydroelectric projects before proceeding.

However, Shi said the environment along the Nujiang River in Yunnan has already been greatly damaged because local residents have to live and farm on cliffs and steep mountains along the two sides of the river, causing soil erosion and associated ecological harm.

He quoted figures from the government of the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture that claim all forests in the region below 1,500 metres above sea level have disappeared and at least 600 locations in the prefecture are at risk of natural disasters.

China has a goal of increasing the share of non-fossil fuels in its total energy mix to 15 per cent by 2020, and wants to build additional 140GW of hydropower capacity in the next five years to help meet the target.

The nation's next five-year plan is also expected to include a commitment to accelerate dam construction on an upstream section of the Yangtze in Yunnan.